Question:
Answer:
Tai Chi as a form of physical discipline or exercise is fine, as is learning martial arts to defend oneself or others.
However, mixing in religious ideas, such as believing we have an energy (chi) within ourselves that we can harness and control is not compatible with Catholicism.
In addition, in its religious expression Tai Chi espouses pantheism, i.e., that there is no personal God and that we therefore somehow are God. Consequently, this erroneous religious aspect must also be avoided, similar to how yoga must be avoided as a spiritual path.
As we summarize elsewhere in our response to a letter to the editor,
Editor’s reply: Whether a healing technique involving bodily “energies” is problematic depends on the way the energies are conceived and the evidence that such energies exist. There are natural energies in our body—e.g., the electrical energy in the nervous system. If natural energies are in question, then the technique is not automatically problematic. But if it postulates natural energies for which no evidence exists, then it involves the scientific equivalent of superstition. On the other hand, if the energies in question are thought to be supernatural, then the technique involves superstition in the proper sense and thus violates the first commandment (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 2111).
In short, Tai Chi as a form of exercise is fine, because its practitioners don’t have a monopoly on certain physical movements. But Tai Chi as a means of religious promotion or practice is not morally permissible. In this light, Catholics should avoid any class in which the leader is promoting or practicing the religious aspects of Tai Chi vs. simply using the class as means of physical fitness for themselves and others.
For more on this subject, see the Church document Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life, which hits on related topics, including the practice of yoga.